Knitting machine



A. w. EHLERT, ET AL KNITTING MACHINE Fil ed Junej8, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 to provide other improvements as will hereinafter Patented Dec. 12, 1939 Acworth, Ga., assignors to Unique Knitting Company, Acworth, Ga., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application June s, 1937, Serial No. 147,014

8 Claims.

The present invention relates to knitting ma chines and more particularly to an attachment for knitting machines for providing a turn or inlay of yarn different from the yarn or thread in the other courses, this yarn specifically considered being a rubber or elastic yarn, or broadly considered a color yarn for a striping eiTect.

In a ribknitting machine as heretofore constructed, with a view to'inserting an inlay or inlays of rubber, or elastic thread spaced from each other, it has been necessary toemploy two, three or four yarn feeds. The resulting courses .containing elastic thread follow in a uniform relation right through the fabric, for example, one l5 course with elastic thread inlay and three courses of inelastic thread only. -With such a multiplefeed machine for making stocking tops the rela tion of the elastic thread turn, or inlay, to the fabric courses cannot be changed at will and, consequently, some elastic yarn courses bind on a large portion of the leg, while others may be entirely too loose on a smaller portion of the leg; In other words, it is impossible in such prior ma-' chines to produce anything resembling a fashion- I 25 ing effect, when using elastic thread inlays in courses that are uniformly spaced.

Some of the objects of the present invention are to provide an attachment for knitting machines which overcomes the foregoing and other disadvantages; to provide a mechanism for laying in a fabric a length of elastic thread at predetermined intervals in the length of the fabric; to provide a mechanism for laying in a fabric a length of elastic thread wherein it is unnecessary 35 to employ a cutter and binder; to provide a mechanism for forming a plurality of rows of elastic thread in a fabric in such a manner that a fashioning effect is obtained; to provide a mechanism arranged to introduce an elastic thread into a course of knitting in advance of the regular yarn feed; to provide a mechanism arranged to intro-.

duce an elastic or other thread into a course of knitting behind the regular yarn feed; to provide a control for a yarn laying mechanism wherein provision is made for automatically varying the inlay with respect to theother fabric courses; and

appear. In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 represents 50 a'front elevationof a portion of a 'rib' knitting ,machine equipped with one form of the present invention; Fig. 2 represents a detail in section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 represents a fragmentary section showing the details of a trip and latch control; Fig. 4 represents a sectional elevation showing details of the auxiliary thread control .mechanism; Fig. 5 is a detailed section on line 5-=-5 of Fig. 4-; Fig. 6 is a detailed section on line 6-6'of Fig. 4; Fig. '7 represents a'. diagrammatic enlarged detail showing the relative position of- 5 the dial needles, cylinder needles and auxiliary threadfFig. '8 represents a detail in sectional elevation showing the laying positionof the thread relative to theetwosets of needles; Fig. -9 is a detail in side elevation of the pattern wheel con- 10 trol; and Fig. 10 is a fragmentary elevation of a piece'of fabric showing the rows of auxiliary thread as arranged by the present invention;

Referring to the drawings one form of the pres -ent invention is attached to a ribknitting machine of which those parts necessary for a complete understanding of the invention are shown, f such as the bed I 0; meansfor supporting the fixed needle'cylinder II, the rotatable gear driven cam housing '12 which carries the posts l3, and yarn feed |4.- The posts [3 support the driven yoke I5 which actuates the spindle 16 to rotate the dial needle cam plate H, for operating the dial needles It in proper timed relation with respectto the I cylinder needles 20 for the required knitting operation. g

One form of the present invention contemplates the layingin of an auxiliary thread 2| suchas rubber or elastic yarn in advance of the regular yarn feed'to form an inlay .which is not knitted I i .into' the fabric, The position of this auxiliary thread isshown in Fig. 8 where its position with respect to the dial needles l8 and cylinder needles 20 is clearly shown.. A vertically disposed tube 22 forms aguide for the'thread 2| and'is so located and positioned that its discharge end-is in close proximity to the ends ofthe dialneedles l8 and just inside the circle of cylinderneedles' 20. f The tube 22 is guided for axial sliding movement in a hole 23 through a circular plate 24 which is freely movable upon the spindle l6. A bracket 25 fixed to the .lower face of the plate 24 serves to guide and steady the lower end of the tube 22 to always maintain its discharge end properly 'related to the two groups of needles. A bushing 26 is adjustably mounted on the tube 22 by means of a set screw 21 in order to compress a coilv spring 28 against the lower face of the plate 24- sothat the spring 28 presses the tube 22 downward to its thread laying in positions For lifting 5 the tube 22. to inoperative position an arm-30 is fastened to the upper end' of the tube 22 and terminates in. a T-head 3| which has a centrally disposed follower pin'32- guided through the plate rest the meals can; This cam' 33 is keyed or otherwise made fast to the spindle l6 and is provided with a groove 34 arranged in one position to register with the pin 32 and allow the latter to drop therein under the infiuenceof the spring 28 and lower the tube 22 to thread laying in position. This groove 34 has inclined side walls to lead the follower pin 32 therein while the end of this pin 32 is tapered as shown at 35 to reduce friction and facilitate a relatively quick lifting of the follower pin 32 at the proper time. Guide pins 36 are located respectively at opposite ends of the head 3| and ride freely in holes 31 of the plate 24 to prevent distortion or strain upon the tube 22.

For causing the plate 24 to rotate to lay a thread course the periphery of the plate 24 is formed with gear teeth 38 while a pinion 40 meshes therewith. The pinion 40 is fast upon a shaft 42 journalled'at its ends respectively in an arm 43 and in the ring member |2. The arm 43 is conveniently supported by one of the posts l3 in fixed position. A clutch sleeve 44 is keyed to the shaft 42 for sliding movement thereon and has a head 45 which is straddled by a shift fork 46 projecting laterally from a clutch operating lever 41. One end of the lever 41 is pivoted at 48 to a fixed part such as one of the posts l3, while its other end has a cam face 49 extending into the path of a cam rock finger 50. A spring 5| is compressed between the bottom face of the pinion 40 and the head 45 so that movement of the clutch sleeve 44 to clutching relation is caused by the expansion of the spring 5|. The clutch proper is formed by a notch 52 in the lower end of the sleeve 44 and a push lug 53 fastened to a pinion 54. The lug 53 is of a size to enter the notch 52 when required and thereby transmit motion of the pinion 54 to the clutch sleeve 44 and then to the pinion 40. The pinion 54 is mounted for free rotation upon the shaft 42 and in this instance is driven by meshing with the toothed periphery of the stationary cylinder While this is a very convenient way to actuate the pinion .54 it is obvious that a separate gear can be used if desired.

From the foregoing it will be apparent when the clutch sleeve 44 is lowered to clutching position that rotation of the pinion 54 will be transmitted through the clutch to the shaft thereby driving the pinion 40 which thereupon travels around the periphery of the plate 24. In this connection it should be noted'that while the plate 24 is rotatable upon the spindle l6 its hub is in contact with a friction washer 55, being held by a bushing 56 fast to the spindle l6. Thus when the pinion 40 is positively driven the plate 24 remains stationary and the thread laying in tube 22 stays in its starting position. When, however, the clutch sleeve 44 is raised to declutching position the sleeve 44 is disconnected from the driving or push lug 53 and therefore as the sleeve 44 revolves about the spindle IS, the meshing of the now fixed pinion 40 with the teeth 38 of the plate 24 causes the latter to rotate and carry the tube 22 around with it to thereby lay in a length of elastic or other thread.

In order that this length laid in by the tube 22 can be brought into the fabric in the manner required, that is at any course in the knitting where desired, the control finger 50 is arranged in association with the pattern wheel 51 of the knitting machine and is operated by it in the following manner. The finger 50 is carried by a shaft 50a which is mounted vertically in the ring housing |2 so that it can oscillate between two positions, one so that the finger cam end lifts the clutch operating lever 41, and the other so that it allows the lever 41 to drop. A coil spring 60 encircles the shaft 50a and is normally under such tension as will turn the finger 50 in the direction necessary to lift the operating lever 41. A trip dog 6| is fast to the shaft 50a and projects laterally to move in a path to intercept a trip 62 arranged to be automatically controlled from the aforesaid pattern wheel 51. When the trip dog 6| strikes the trip 62 it turns the finger 50 against the tension of the spring 66 until the operating lever 41 is released. In order to hold the finger 5|] in this position until the pattern calls for its release, an extension 63 from the dog 6| is provided and arranged to be engaged by a latch 64 normally pressed toward latching position by a coil spring 64a. The tail 65 of the latch 64 projects laterally to move in a path to intercept the trip 62 when the latter is in a second position determined by the pattern wheel 51.

For actuating the trip 62, the pattern wheel 51, which is operated step by step by the usual pawl 66 and ratchet teeth 61 of the knitting machine, has its side face provided with a circumferential row of threaded openings 68 for the reception of threaded control pins 1|! which pass beneath and support a rock arm 1| keyed to a 1 rock shaft 12 to which is attached a second rock arm 13 bearing against the bottom of the shank of the trip 62. It should be noted that this trip is rotatably and slidably mounted in the bed I0 so that it can not only be raised and lowered from one position to another but is also free to turn as its circular head trips either the dog 6| or the latch 64.

In operation the auxiliary thread 2| is led from the rotatably mounted bobbin 14 through the tension 15 to the tube or guide 22 by which it is laid in the course of fabric according to a predetermined arrangement. Thus in the pattern selected by way of example and as shown in Fig. 9 the control pins 10 are so placed in the holes 66 that the rock arm 1| is held up for four courses of fabric and then drops to cause the auxiliary thread mechanism to lay in one length of rubber or other thread. Thereafter this sequence is repeated, though it can be readily varied by making a change of distance between the pins 10 which drop the arm 1|. Thus any desired number of fabric courses can be knit between the lengths or rows of auxiliary thread. When the arm 1| drops into a provided space the shaft 12 rocks the arm 13 away from the trip 62 which then drops until its head is in the path of the latch tail 65. When the latter strikes the trip 62 the latch 64 swings against the tension of spring 64a and releases the dog 6| so that the shaft 50a can be turned by the spring 60 to cause the finger 50 to lift the lever 41 to release the clutch sleeve 44. When this happens the pinion 54 and clutch push lug 53 rotate freely about the shaft 42 and since the pinion 54 is riding around the cylinder it carries the shaft 42 and pinion 4|! with it. However since the pinion 40 now exerts no working pressure on the plate 24, the latter is caused to rotate with the spindle I6 by reason of the friction washer 55. This rotation of the plate 24 carries the auxiliary thread guide 22 around with it and the elastic thread is laid in place on the cradle formed by the body thread between the two sets of needles which are in their retracted position. It should be noted at the start of this plate rotation that the cam groove 34 registers with the follower pin 32 and the guide tube 22 is thus lowered to operating position. when one revolution of the plate 24 is completed the pattern wheel 51 reaches the position required to lift the rock arm H which movement elevates the trip 62-into the path of the dog GI and the latter is turned against the tension of the spring 50 to shift the finger 50' and release the lever 41 so that the clutch sleeve 44 is dropped into the path of the travelling lug 53. The thread guide 22 has now stopped in its rest position, which is always opposite the same needle and since the clutch is now functioning the control parts rotate about the plate 24 which remains stationary. To make clear the coordination of the cam 33 to'the clutch and associated parts, it should here be noted that in the setting of the machine this cam 33 is located with its cam groove 34 in register with a selected cylinder needle. With this position determined, the pinion 40, which at this time is loose on the shaft 42, is turned until the gear 38 brings the follower pin 32 into register centrally with the cam groove 34. The set screw 39 of the pinion 40 is now tightened and the parts, as so set, are ready for automatic control by the pattern wheel which has been set. with its control rock arm H held up by the first control pin 10. The clutch sleeve is therefore in clutching position and when the machine is started the gear 24 remains idle but at every revolution the pin 32 drops into the groove 34 in its exact prearranged relation. When the pattern wheel reaches the end of the predetermined number of courses so that the arm 'H drops, then there is an immediate movement of the clutch lifting lever and the clutch shifts upward so that the shaft 42 and the pinion 40 are released from the driving pinion 54 and the gear 24 now can rotate to carry the auxiliary yarn guide 24 around with it. At the exact moment that one revolution is made, the pattern wheel functions to drop the clutch sleeve 44 into clutching relation with the pinion 54 and the pin 32 is again in its initial position above the selected dial needle and properly correlated to the cam groove 34 through rising and falling by the cam action at each revolution of the cylinder to clear the dial needles until the gear 24 is again free to turn.

Having thus described our invention,

claim: g l. A thread laying in mechanism for knitting machines having a dial, a set of dial needles, a set of cylinder needles, a rotatable cam box, stationary cylinder, and yarn feed, comprising a guide for an auxiliary thread arranged to lay its thread between said dial needles and said cylinder needles, means including a clutch for causing said guide to rotate about said stationary cylinder, and meansfor throwing said clutch in machines having a dial, a set of dial needles, a n

and out of engagement to rotate said guide one revolution and lay one length of auxiliary thread in the fabric being knitted.

2. A thread laying in mechanism for knitting set of cylinder needles, a rotatable cam box, stationary cylinder, and yarn feed, comprising a guide for an auxiliary thread arranged to lay its thread between said dial needles and said cylin der needles, means including a clutch for causing said guide to rotate about said stationary cylinder, means for throwing said clutch in and out of engagement to rotate said guide one revolution-and lay one length of auxiliary thread, and a control device for actuating said clutch throwing means at predetermined courses in the fabric being knitted.

3..A'thread laying in mechanism for knitting machines having a dial, a set of dial needles, a set of cylinder needles, a rotatable cam box, stationary cylinder, and yarn feed, comprising a guide for an auxiliary thread arranged to lay its thread between said dial needles and said cylinder needles, means for causing said guide to rotate about said stationary cylinder, and means including a trip operated by said pattern wheel to stop said guide at the end of one rotation, whereby a length of auxiliary thread is laid in the fabric being knitted.

4. An auxiliary thread feed for knitting machines having a dial, a set of dial needles, a set of cylinder needles, a rotatable cam box, stationary cylinder, and yarn feed, comprising a thread guide arranged to move toward and away from a laying in point between the dial needles and the cylinder needles of the machine, means for moving said guide to said laying in point, a

pattern mechanism, means controlled by said pattern mechanism for revolving said guide to cause said auxiliary thread to be laid in the fabric being knit, and means also controlled by said pattern mechanism to stop said guide at the end of a revolution.

5. An auxiliary thread feed for rib knitting machines comprising in combination a thread guide arranged in operative association with the dial and cylinder needles of a rib knitting machine, means including a starting trip for causing said guide to rotate about the stationary cylinder of said machine to lay an auxiliary thread into the fabric being knitted, a second trip means arranged in association with said starting trip means for stopping said guide at a predetermined location, and means including a pattern control for selecting one or the other of said trips according to requirements.

6. An auxiliary thread feed for rib knitting machines comprising in combination a thread guide arranged in operative association with the dial and cylinder needles of a rib knitting machine, means including a starting trip for causing said guide to rotate about the stationary cylinder of said machine to lay an auxiliary thread into the fabric being knitted, means arranged in association with said starting trip means for stopping said guide at a predetermined location, means for selecting one or the other of said trips according to requirements, and means for varying the time of operation of said selecting means, whereby the starting trip is actuated at different time intervals to vary the number of fabric courses between auxiliary thread inlays.

7. An auxiliary thread feed for knitting machines having a dial, a set of dial needles, a set of cylinder needles, and a dial cam rotating meanscomprising a plate gear normally held by friction to rotate with said cam rotating means,

an auxiliary thread guide carried by said plate gear and superposed with respect to a thread laying in point above the cylinder needles, means including a pinion meshing with said gear to hold said plate gear stationary, pattern means controlling said holding means to release said gear to cause said thread guide to travel therewith, and means to maintain said guide in an operating position with respect to said cylinder and dial needles while traveling with said gear.

8. An auxiliary thread feed for knitting machines having a dial, a set of dial needles, a set of cylinder needles, and a dial cam rotating means, comprising a plate gear normally held by friction to rotate with said cam rotating means, an auxiliary thread guide carried by said plate gear and superposed with respect to a thread laying in point above the cylinder needles, means including a pinion meshing with said gear to hold said plate gear stationary, pattern means controlling said holding means to release said gear to cause said thread guide to travel therewith, and a cam operating to maintain said guide in an operating position with respect to said cylinder and dial needles while ,traveling with said gear.

ARTHUR W. EHLERT. 'I'HURSTON R. FOUTSV 

